My fiance and I adopted Maggie, an 8 month old sheltie mix, on 2-19-08. She's the cutest dog, but is afraid of her own shadow. We knew when we got her that it would take a lot of patience to help her socialize. Both of us are dog novices, and maybe Maggie is a little out of our league, but she's captured our hearts and we want to give it our best.

I'll try to post updates on how Maggie is progressing here. I'll also include any advice that I get that works. That way, if anyone else is ever in my situation, then they can just read my blog for tips.

Progress Posted 03-06-2008 at 08:25 AM by wcladymacbeth Maggie is doing so much better than I ever expected she would be doing ALREADY. Now that my brother moved out, it's just me and Justin in the house so maybe that was easier for her to get used to. She acts like a normal dog all the time now (as long as no one's over). She still tends toward me but she wags her tail at Justin and gives him kisses too. I think the best advice anyone has given me so far - although I have received a LOT of good advice but this is the thing that has... Continue reading... wcladymacbeth Top Dog

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Pretty Baby Posted 03-03-2008 at 12:56 PM by wcladymacbeth Yesterday was a great day. Justin and I spent the afternoon in German Village, the neighborhood in Columbus where we're moving. It's really nice but affordable, and the people who live there are young and all have dogs. There's a big beautiful park where some people had their dogs off-leash. All the places we're looking at have fenced in backyards. We didn't take Maggie with us although I really wanted to. We're still getting used to the area so we wanted to bring Justin's car that... Continue reading... wcladymacbeth Top Dog

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Good Dog!!! Posted 02-28-2008 at 07:57 PM by wcladymacbeth Maggie was in her crate for 9 hours today and she behaved PERFECTLY!!! No soilage, nothing. I worried about her all day. I am so proud of her!!! This morning, I took Saje's advice and lured her into her crate rather than force. It was still tricky. I did use a leash, but I didn't push or pull at all. She was so well leash-trained when I got her, that when she's on a leash, she pretty much walks right by my side. When I got her to the door of the crate, she stopped and wouldn't go... Continue reading... wcladymacbeth Top Dog

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Bad dog :-( Posted 02-27-2008 at 04:14 PM by wcladymacbeth Maggie was a bad, bad dog today. I couldn't believe. Justin and I both had the day off today. In the late morning we put Maggie in her crate so we could go look at properties near my new job. I took her out before we left and she didn't potty. When Justin and I came home after just 4 hours, Maggie had torn up the blinds and peed her bed. Those weren't cheap blinds, either, and they're not ours - they came with the house, which we're renting. So we'll have to replace... Continue reading... wcladymacbeth Top Dog

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Starting work sooner than I thought :-( Posted 02-25-2008 at 12:28 PM by wcladymacbeth I just found out that I get to start work tomorrow! This is definitely good for my bank account, but I was sort of hoping to have more time with Maggie before I had to start. I'm a physician assistant and I'll be working in an emergency room. That means I'll be working 10-12 hour days. The good news is I'll only have to work 3 days a week to be full time. The bad news is I'll be away from my baby for up to 12 hours. Luckily, she'll only actually be home alone for about... Continue reading... wcladymacbeth Top Dog

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